


Never Walk Again

by Melethril



Series: Manual Labor [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BAMF James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Gen, Hurt James "Rhodey" Rhodes, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, James "Rhodey" Rhodes Feels, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Protective Rhodey, Rhodey is an Avenger in case you forgot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-07
Updated: 2016-07-07
Packaged: 2018-07-22 03:55:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7418836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melethril/pseuds/Melethril
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rhodey wakes up in the hospital after Captain America: Civil War.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Never Walk Again

**Author's Note:**

> I am still trying to come to terms with Civil War as you can see. 
> 
> Watching AoU again made me realize that Rhodey has actually been with the Avengers for longer than any of the 'new Avengers'. That should count for something.
> 
> I'm looking at you, Clint, and Steve!
> 
>  
> 
> Oh: This is the second part of the 'manual labor' series (Tinker Tinker, Little Stark) because some people wanted to see Rhodey's reaction. And a new series 'Through Metal and Silk', which is all Tony&Rhodey friendship.

Whenever James opened his eyes, and the pain mixed with the distinct numbness of his legs, he had the insane wish to wake up from this terrible nightmare.

_‘I am very sorry, Colonel, but the damage to your spine is permanent.’_

Less than twenty words had been sufficient to destroy James’ world. To his great misery, he had been alone when the doctor had given the news.

Fuck them all. Fuck Steve Rogers and all of his loyal, brainless dogs. If they had just listened to them… A miserable Vision ( _not JARVIS, just his voice_ ) had confessed what had happened; he had told him about his _distraction_ , about Natasha’s betrayal – and her absence from the field when he fell; and that nobody had seen Tony since the doctors had given their prognosis.

God, Tony! Where was he? Was he okay? Did he go after Rogers? James had nightmares about a seriously injured or even dead Tony, abandoned and alone. He could not think of any other explanation for Tony’s absence. Tony had been his medical proxy since college and vice versa. That his best friend was not here could only mean that something bad happened.

As far as the others were concerned…

Well, he would lie if he said it did not hurt. He had trusted these people! He had fought by their side for more than one year, longer than Sam or Wanda – hell, longer than Bugman, the Spiderkid, the big kitty and Barnes _combined_ – but he had been cast aside as nothing more than a footnote. Rogers had called him an Avenger more than once, but now that Rhodey thought about it, the man had never truly taken his advice or opinions into account. James had been in the military for all of his adult life, he had risked his life again and again, but none of that seemed sufficient to play in the superhero big leagues _(What about Sam Wilson?_ ), or to be viewed as anything more than Tony Stark’s sidekick.

He was Tony’s friend, so fuck him, right? He was the billionaire’s loyal dog. Well, fuck them all! He had supported accountability long before Tony had. He was a military man, and a trained officer. You have to question yourself before, during and after every mission. You have to reflect on your mistakes and make sure you do not repeat them in the future. You have to be held accountable for everything you do, or people die needlessly.

_‘The safest hands are still our own.’_

Really, Rogers? Fucking, really? You think only Tony is capable of mistakes? And even that… On a quiet, miserable and distinctly drunken evening, Tony had explained in detail how Ultron should not have come into existence. He had called FRIDAY ‘JARVIS’ eight times that evening, and profusely apologized to his _‘sweet little girl’_ once he realized what he was doing. James never pretended to understand Tony’s deeply personal connection to all of his creations, in particular JARVIS. He had met JARVIS in the AI’s early days, when he had been little more than a memory of Edwin Jarvis, Tony’s surrogate father apart from Obie ( _Bastard! I trusted you!_ ). Tony was incapable of separating himself from his creations. If they showed the slightest signs of a personality (and yes, James was well aware how amazing that was), it was even worse. Because of this Tony would always feel guilty for every bad thing that happened as a result of his creations. The Air Force colonel had not understood this at first. To him, it had been incomprehensible how Tony could feel guilty for something he had neither orchestrated nor approved, namely Stark weapons being sold underhand to terrorists. James should have been more attentive; he should have known his brilliant friend better.

Anthony Edward Stark, for all his intelligence and sheer charisma, was just Tony, a middle-aged, suspicious man who had lived and grown up with too few real friends, too much power and awareness of this power, and who was still a remarkably kind soul that cared far too much about everybody.

Tony was cocky and arrogant (justifiably; the man was a genius and a billionaire), but he was also the most self-loathing person James had ever met in his life. Because he had grown up with money, power and the awareness of both, Tony felt responsible, even for things that were not his fault or even in his power to change or influence in the first place.

And that was the reason why Tony had supported the idea of the Accords; to share the burden if only a little bit and to lose some of the paralyzing fear of becoming the monster many (including some of the Avengers) accused him of being. Nevertheless, he was also a businessman, and that was why James had been elated to hear that Tony was with him on this. He had known that the billionaire would cut out the best deal for the Avengers. It would take time and a lot of seduction/flattery, but Tony would manage. He would have created exactly what they needed. All the others would have had to do was lean back and trust them.

_Yes, them._

James was a highly decorated officer; he had gained a lot of influence in the military over the years, especially since becoming War Machine… None of that seemed to account for anything in the Avenger Initiative, though. If anything, it denounced you. Steve no longer trusted authority since SHIELD. Natasha never had. Wanda hated it. Sam was mainly indifferent to it but also dismissed it quite readily. Clint scoffed at it. Bruce was terrified of it and Thor was a fucking prince; he led armies, he did not follow them. Tony used to be a bit like Thor, only less of a warrior and more of a businessman. However, the last years had broken him.

Sometimes, Rhodey wanted the old days back, that time before Afghanistan and before Iron Man. He had not heard his best friend laugh freely since he had returned from that portal. Becoming a part of the Avengers had meant the world to Tony, Rhodey knew that.

_‘You told me, remember? You were right! When I’m suited up, and I look in the mirror, I know they have my back.’_

He sometimes (often) underestimated just how closely Tony listened to him and now that old advice had come back to bite both of them in the ass (not that he could feel it).

For almost three years (despite the ever-present fear since returning from that portal), his friend had been so much like that hopeful and brilliant kid he had met in college, it was eerie. The Avengers had given him so much (friends; real friends that did not care about the money or his persona), but also a painful number of nightmares and fears that had not been there before. They had cost him Pepper.

All James wanted for his friend was to be happy and safe. Since their friendship was built on snark, he did not say that enough. Now Tony might be lying somewhere believing that nobody cared. Tears prickled in his eyes and he blamed the drugs for his emotional outburst. He wanted to scream and run, but he could not. The sob that escaped him sounded like a whimper. The tears fell only seconds later.

“Rhodey, what is it?” a familiar voice asked. Tony sounded both half-asleep and distressed, but James had never been more relieved to hear that voice. “I’ll get the doc…”

“Tones?” James whispered disbelievingly, forcing his upper body to shift, so that he could take a look about the room. Tony, now crouching by his side, had apparently sat by his bed in a distinctly uncomfortable looking chair (they probably customized those for hospitals). “Tony, are you okay?”

His best friend, the master of emotional masks, seemed about as close to tears as James.

“I didn’t catch you in time,” Tony whispered, his hands twitching as if he wanted to touch him but did not dare. James had not seen this particular movement since their early days in college when the sheer idea of having a friend seemed to thrill the heir of Stark Industries.

 _“It’s not your fault,”_ was what he wanted to say, but what came out was, “I’ll never walk again, Tony.”

Given the look on his best friend’s face, he probably should have shot him in the chest. It would have hurt less. However, Tony was nothing if not amazing.

“Nope, I will make sure you walk again. Remember the mechanism of the boots that make them fly? The signal is helmet to suit, not head-spine-suit. I did not attach to suits to our nervous system; that’s creepy though tempting because it improves motor control,” he babbled, not even bothering to breathe. “I am currently working on an exoskeleton that will bypass all of that spinal cord crap; who needs that anyway if you have a brain, right? Evolution is stupid. Anyway, the exoskeleton will interpret signals from the brain transferred by an external chip attached to the skin at the back of your head right at connection point between the occipital bone and the atlas – I won’t implant anything into you – I swear – that I based on the algorithm I used to make the Iron Man suit work; War Machine is much more like a fighter jet as you know, so it doesn’t work the same way. Anyway, to keep it short, that chip will interpret your intentions and you’ll walk again, I promise. I’m also approaching some top neurosurgeons and experts in neuroscience to bridge the injury in your spine, probably based on the same technology as the chip, but more…flesh-friendly. I need biologists for that one. All those squishy human parts aren’t my thing. I shouldn’t say that, right? That’s insensitive, I mean you got squashed. Kind of. I’m sorry, this isn’t what I… You’ll walk again, Rhodey, I promise. It’ll take some time, but… Also, as soon as the test phases are over, I will make some contracts with the military. I mean, there are plenty of veterans out there who might like to get better, and I can help so... Say something?”

James was completely overwhelmed, but he knew one thing for sure: He would make it. With this incredible man, this _hero_ , by his side, he would walk again.

“Thank you, Tony,” he whispered, grabbing his hand and squeezing it lightly. Then he frowned when he saw that his friend’s hands were severely injured: his fingernails were ripped, the skin was partly ripped; the engineer’s very distinct calluses had obviously not been enough to protect these hands from whatever Tony had done. He then looked him over for the first time. He looked beaten up, and from what little he could see, his best friend was black and blue.

“What happened after my surgery, Tones? I know this didn’t happen at the airport.”

Tony avoided his gaze and bit his lip.

“Tones?”

The billionaire took a shuddering breath and told him everything.

Fuck them all! Fuck Natasha! Fuck Clint! Fuck that Bug Idiot! Fuck Steven ‘holier than thou’ ‘we must not keep secrets from each other’ ‘all for one, one for all’ ‘I am Captain America’ Rogers! Fuck these people.

He was Colonel James Rhodes. He was War Machine, and that was not how you treated a teammate. He had driven this lesson home to each idiot Airman under his command.

He would learn to walk again so he could kick their asses with his foot.

**Author's Note:**

> I might be a little bit angry.
> 
> There is also a distinct lack of awesome Rhodey&Tony friendship stories around.


End file.
